


Call and Answer

by tptigger



Category: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Genre: Derek Reese vs cyborgs, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 22:16:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tptigger/pseuds/tptigger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John calls Derek for help when Sarah is missing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call and Answer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raybobbie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raybobbie/gifts).



> Thanks to TLvop for the beta, and the Yuletide Hippos for helping me find them. :)

Derek stared at the cereal aisle in the grocery store, overwhelmed. He recognized a lot of the names-- Cheerios, Rice Crispies, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, even the dreaded raisin bran, but actually _choosing_ one was another story. His contemplation was interrupted by his phone vibrating in his pocket. He glanced at the caller ID before opening it. "John."

The response was the sound of touch tone buttons being hit.

Derek sent back the recognition sequence. "What's going on?"

"Have you heard from my mom in the last couple days?" John's voice was quiet and he was speaking fast.

"No, why?"

"I was hoping you had." John spoke so quickly Derek wondered how he was breathing. "Kacy was asking where she was and I'm afraid she's going to call social services and..."

"John, breathe," Derek said, sharply.

"Derek, this is serious, if she calls social services they're going to take me into foster care and..."

"I'm not going to let that happen, John. Breathe. I'm at the store, do you need anything?"

"Um, I don't think so." He heard the fridge open. "Not that I see."

Derek strode to the exit, put his empty basket back in the stack, and headed out of the store. "I'll be there in 10. Sit down, have a glass of water. Where's th-- where's Cameron?"

"Here," John said. "She didn't want me to call you."

"You did the right thing." Derek opened the door to his truck, wishing he could rend that metal bitch limb from limb. "I'll be there soon. Drink some water and stay calm. No one's going to put you in foster care when I have something to say about it."

"Ok." John spit out the words like he was a new recruit agreeing with his CO.

"Sit tight. I'll be there soon."

* * *

"Uncle Derek!" John cried as Derek stepped through the door.

Derek didn't have time to ask where the Uncle came from before John nearly bowled him over in a hug. Derek wrapped his arms around John instinctively, trying to remember where to put them.

"Don't be a freak," Cameron said from the top of the steps. "At least not in front of Kasy."

Derek looked up to see a blonde woman with a young baby on her hip.

He tried to adopt a friendly expression. "Hi, I'm Derek Baum, John and Cameron's uncle." He looked down at John. "Let's get you sitting down, you're shaking. You OK, Cameron?" He didn't really care about the machine but, much like John, he was trying to keep up appearances.

At least he thought that was why John was acting strangely.

"I'm not a freak," Cameron responded.

He just looked at Kacy and shrugged. "She... has issues."

"She seems to be acting pretty normal," Kacy said, brow furrowed.

"Cameron's really good at putting up a front," Derek said. "Thanks for your concern. I've got things under control." He looked up at Cameron. "You should have called me earlier."

Derek was pretty sure the "Uncle" title was a front, and the hug, but he thought John might actually be shaking. "Cameron, can you get John some water please?"

Cameron walked down the steps and headed to the kitchen.

Derek maneuvered John so he was facing forward and gently guided him to the couch. "Sit down, John."

"Are you sure..." Kasy asked hesitantly.

The baby started to cry.

"I've got it," Derek said, trying not wince at the baby's cries. "You just worry about the little guy. Thanks for getting them to call me."

"Sure. See you later, John, Cameron; let me know if you need anything." Kasy bounced the baby as she left.

Derek settled John down on the couch, sitting next to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

The door shut behind Kasy and John scooted away.

Cameron entered the living room, glass of water in hand.

"I'm not thirsty."

Derek touched John's shoulder. "You're still shaking. Drink it."

John sipped it, but tossed a glare at Derek over the rim of the glass.

"When was the last time either of you saw Sarah?" Derek asked.

"Three nights ago," John said. "She was gone before I got up. I figured she was just in late and out early the last couple of days, but yesterday was laundry day, so I washed the sheets and made the bed and it hasn't been slept in. I wasn't going to call you yet, but then Kasy showed up asking questions and..." he sped up when he mentioned Kasy.

"And I'm here, so she's not going to call anyone," Derek said. "She might nose around to see if I've got things under control, but her motherly instincts will be satisfied by an adult in the house. I don't want to hear the words 'social services' or 'foster care' again. It won't happen, all right?"

John nodded, sipping at the water again.

"Cameron? Have you seen Sarah at night?"

The cyborg shook its head.

"So she hasn't been here?"

"I've been... out."

Derek's eyes narrowed. "Doing what?"

"Research."

"In the middle of the night?"

"There's a grad student I can bribe with donuts," it replied.

Derek scrubbed a hand over his face, unsure how to respond to that.

John's stomach rumbled.

Derek frowned at him. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Um..."

"Yesterday, lunch," Cameron said immediately.

"And you let him go that long without eating?" Derek scolded.

"He always does in the future."

"He's not growing then," Derek said. "Go downstairs, check the wall, see if you can figure out what Sarah was working on."

"Three dots," John said, "it's always the three dots."

"Cameron, see what you can dig up while I get some food into this idiot," Derek said.

Cameron headed to the basement.

"Come on, John, let's find you something to eat." Derek reached out and grabbed John's shoulders, intent on manhandling him off the couch.

John jerked away. "Shouldn't I be learning to go without food for days?" John's voice was harsh and not a bit sarcastic.

"There will be plenty of time for that after J-day." Derek followed John into the kitchen. "In the meantime, you're still growing and there's plenty of food, so you should be eating. Properly."

John sighed, flopping into a seat.

"Pancakes?" Derek asked.

"You always burn yours."

"We'll find her." Derek dug through the fridge, located some bacon, and put the frying pan on the burner. "Eggs? Or I think I saw some of those refrigerated roll things in the fridge."

John shrugged. "I'm not really that hungry."

His stomach rumbled again.

"Sure you aren't."

* * *

Ten minutes later, John was wolfing down his second serving of bacon while Derek put the rolls in the oven. Not hungry indeed.

"You should have fruit too," Cameron said, placing an orange next to John's plate.

"Oh, now you're nagging him," Derek said, sarcastically.

"I thought you wanted me to?" Cameron asked.

"See what you get when you have pet metal," he told John.

John peeled the orange. "Find anything, Cameron?"

"Nothing downstairs. Do these count as extenuating circumstances for searching Sarah's room?" Cameron asked.

"No, stay out of my room," Sarah said. She was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Are you OK?" John asked, getting up. He reached out, patting her arms and looking her over for injuries.

"I'm fine," Sarah said. "What's Derek doing here?"

"I called him." John walked behind Sarah, patting her back. "Kasy was sniffing around and we hadn't seen you for a couple days." He reached out to touch her legs.

"John, I'm find, cut it out," Sarah said. "How's that paper coming?"

"Um..." John said.

"You should get started on that," Sarah said.

"Okay," John said. He grabbed the peeled orange off of the table and headed up to his room.

"Bacon?" Derek offered, pulling some out of the pan.

"How burnt is it?" Sarah asked.

Derek held up the plate.

Sarah took it. A timer dinged. Derek pulled the rolls out of the oven, dumped them on a plate and handed it to Cameron. "Make yourself useful and take these up to John, would you?"

"What's the magic word?" Cameron asked.

John was teaching it _manners_? _Really_?

"Can you please take those up to John?"

"Okay." Cameron walked out of the room. "You're welcome."

Derek waited until Cameron's feet had stopped clomping up the stairs. "You might want to tell him where you're going next time."

"He didn't need to know."

"Until Kasy showed up asking where you were," Derek said. "He panicked. Fortunately, he called me, but I walked in and he practically bowled me over in a hug."

"Are you sure that wasn't for Kasy's benefit?" Sarah asked.

"I'm pretty sure the panic in his voice when he called me wasn't," Derek said. "And I'm sure she didn't bring up anything about social services or foster care. John did. He was terrified. I wouldn't let it happen but..."

"Are you trying to tell me how to raise my son?" Sarah snapped.

"No," Derek said quietly, "I'm concerned about my nephew."

Sarah looked him over.

"Besides, what if you were in trouble? If Kasy hadn't come sniffing around, I wouldn't have known you were gone. What if I'd needed to move him? You know better. What the hell is going on?"

"If you're going to keep accusing me like this, you can get out of my house."

"Fine," Derek said. "At least call me if you're going to be away for a couple days. Kasy's going to be asking a lot of questions if it seems like you keep leaving your teenager alone. And I'll know if you need back-up."

Sarah looked at him.

"Or if you're caught and we need to run. Unless you really want John caught too?"

"Okay. Fine. I'll call you."

Derek put the bacon pan in the sink. "I'll get out of your hair."

"You do that."

Derek went up the stairs to John's room. He glared at Cameron, who got up and left.

John looked up from his laptop. "What's up?"

"Why didn't you call me sooner?" Derek asked.

"I didn't want to bother you," John said. "And Mom does that, sometimes. I wasn't worried until Kasy started poking around."

"You went from fine to panicked?"

"I wasn't panicked," John said. "That was for Kasy's benefit."

"Then why were you shaking?"

"I forgot to eat."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, you keep telling yourself that."

"Did you need something?" John crossed his arms.

"Promise me you'll give me a heads up if your mom disappears overnight again."

"Why, are you afraid I'll throw a party?" John grinned.

"Sure, we'll go with that. Just promise you'll call me sooner, OK? You won't be bothering me."

John studied him, carefully. "All right. I promise."

Derek looked in John's eyes. 40 year old John was fond of twisting the meanings of what he'd promised. "Promise you'll call me if you don't see or hear from her in 24 hours."

"I promise to call you if Mom's AWOL for twenty four hours," John replied.

Derek looked at John for a long moment, then nodded and left. It was the best he was going to get. He just hoped it would be enough.

The End


End file.
